Hi, I am hoping to get some advice as I am really frustrated and I don't know what else to do.
More than a year ago I went through some heavy stress and at that time I got sick with a nasty cold flu bug that lasted about 10 weeks. Since then and until this day, I have been battling fatigue. I am no longer stressed. I have had numerous blood tests and all come back normal. I stopped the birth control pill because I thought it was that. This year I started to become allergic to dairy, wheat etc. and was battling constipation and stomach pains and gas. I went to a naturopath and he said that I have candida. I have been treating the candida in hopes that my fatigue would go away but it hasn't but all other candida symptoms I had have disappeared. The fatigue has been so bad that it has ruined my marathon running performance and all the races I have done since last year are about 5-9 minutes slower than I used to be. Not only do I battle fatigue but I am always cold and I get irritable and moody. I have to drag my butt to workout or do anything around the house. I did a half marathon 2 weeks ago and the entire time I felt horrible and I felt as though I couldn't get air into my lungs and my legs felt like lead.
In the last few weeks I was certain I am anemic based on the symptoms and went back to the doctors and had blood work done again. I just called my doctor's office and was told that my serum ferritin is normal but my B12 is high. Is the fact that my B12 is high alarming? Should I be worried? I couldn't ask many questions because the receptionist was busy and I could tell she didn't want to answer me. I am slowly transitioning to raw and I know this will be healthier but I need help determining what is causing the fatigue first. I am falling asleep at work and I find it worse after I eat. My doctor is convinced that I have a sleeping disorder but I get atleast 6-7 hours sleep and I am a sound sleeper with very little interruptions Does anyone have any advice? I am so frustrated that it makes me cry because I just want to find the answer to this. I don't want to feel this way anymore. My hubby and I are planning to have kids next year but I can't even think about having them if I feel this way. HELP!
Comments
Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. My doctor is sending me to a sleep lab in the next month which i really don't want to go to. I will be so nervous that I am sure the results will show that I am a bad sleeper. I have always slept about 6-7 hours my entire life and have always been an early riser. I sleep through the night, I guess my doctor is convinced it is a sleep disorder because I don't feel refreshed after sleeping. If I had it my way, I wouldn't go to work and would sleep all day long!
The naturopath did not order a blood culture. He suspected candida based on my symptoms and my health history. He said that the candida is systemic. He said after our first visit that all symptoms should go away and I will feel fabulous if I follow the diet....well most symptoms did go away but I don't feel fabulous. I feel old, and tired and I am only 33 which is sad.
My thyroid has been checked and it is normal. All other blood work (extensively) has been tested and everything has come back normal. Urine test was also done and was normal.
I was with a good friend last night and she said maybe it is my diet. Maybe I need to add back the sugar and more pasta's and breads. Do you think that could be it? Maybe my body needs more simple sugars and complex carbs like pasta's and breads? My diet has mainly been nuts, poultry and fish (which I am slowly weaning off), lots and lots of veggies, and I just started eating fruit again (my naturopath cut it out completely).
My blood pH a few months ago was quite acidic, could it be that? I have been trying to get it back to more alkaline but haven't measured it lately to see where it is at.
Here is my two cents: If you feel your body needs more carbs, you would do it disservice to add back sugar, bread and pasta. Those are so highly processed that I believe they will do you more harm than good. For carbs, please consider adding more fruit. They are so easily digested (especially when not combined with other foods, especially fats) and give great sustained energy. It might not be the answer to all your issues, but I believe it is a much better option for additional carbs and providing energy.
Bread and pasta will make you feel a whole lot worse than you do now, Trust me! I once caved in and had a small bowl of wheat pasta with raw marinara sauce and I could not get myself off the couch! Drinking juices should help. My mom in law has this problem as well as kidney stones. I recommended a colon cleanse and she's started to juice every morning. She's doing better than she did before. Cut out coffee if you're drinking them. They may wake you up for while, but you'll feel extremely tired afterwards.
I normally have some juice in the morning, salad for lunch, and a big smoothie for dinner. I have much more energy than I did before.
I am so sorry that you're going through this. You'll be okay. Just hang in there :)
You're fortunate that you can still run at all. When my fatigue started to hit me last year, I couldn't even really get down the stairs to talk to my kids in the basement, and if I did, I had to rest halfway back up the stairs. It all started from a period of major stress last summer. I'll tell you what helped me, though. Dr. Christopher's liver/gallbladder herbal formula helped a little. But what really got me going again was simply adding more fresh fruit into my diet. I know I'm just repeating what everyone else has already said, but it really helped me get out of a very similar situation to what you're describing.
One thing I've had to learn about myself was that fruit all by itself didn't work well for me. It made me a little sick, and headache-y. I had to have some fat or protein with it. I would highly recommend that you just fiddle with it and find out what works for you.
One last thing. When you do find out what's wrong and get yourself back to where you want to be...when you do become a mother or move on with your life, remember what this last year felt like, and use it as a weapon when your health is threatened again. Every experience can be for our long-term good if we just use it well.
Hi Rawsaysrita, you are right about the pill and it is very familiar with me. I started on it about 2 years ago, came off of it for a while which was from last October until this past June. Since I went on it, everything went downhill. I had huge immune issues as I was sick all the time, I battle fatigue, I was moody and irritable and very sensitive,. My stomach was always upset and it was the start of a huge cycle of yeast infections, hemorroids, bloating etc.
Because I train so much, my iron is very low as well which doesn't help the situation. But back to the pill, I know alot of problems happened with the pill because I was desperate recently (due to skin breaking out all over my face and back, never had this before ever) and made the mistake of going back on it to clear my skin. So I have been on it for the past two months and already I am experiencing bad anxiety, so bad that I can't sleep at night, severe mood issues, irritablilty, and depression. My stomach is ok, because I eat so strict now and my skin cleared up almost completely, but I can't stand the person I have become. Everything bothers me, I'm so negative, the fatigue is just as bad, and the anxiety is really troublesome.
Now that I have been off of it for a few days, I will supplement with MACA powder which is supposed to help normalize hormones. I went on the pill in the first place 2 years ago because I had hormonal issues and as a result of that my periods were all over the place. I'm hoping MACA will help and keep my skin clear.
What other detox do you know of? I'm sure a liver detox will be needed since the pill congests it.
Good luck!